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Course 23 · Lesson 4.2

Citing the Fathers, councils, creeds and online sources

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 23 outline

Module 1: How Research Works

  1. What research is and what a scholarly paper is for
  2. From topic to question: writing a research question that can be answered
  3. The working thesis and how it changes as research develops
  4. Taking notes, recording sources and organizing a project
  5. Academic integrity: quotation, paraphrase and plagiarism

Module 2: Primary and Secondary Sources

  1. Primary and secondary sources in theology and church history
  2. Source criticism: author, date, audience, purpose and transmission
  3. Translations, editions and the problem of reading ancient texts in English
  4. Judging the reliability of a source, including websites and popular books

Module 3: Finding and Reading Scholarship

  1. How peer review works and what it does not guarantee
  2. Finding articles, books and reference works with free and library tools
  3. Reading a scholarly work efficiently and critically
  4. Writing a literature review: summarizing a debate

Module 4: Citation

  1. Chicago notes and bibliography: books, articles and chapters
  2. Citing the Fathers, councils, creeds and online sources
  3. Biblical citation conventions: books, abbreviations, versions and numbering
  4. Managing a bibliography and checking citations

Module 5: Evaluating Arguments and Bias

  1. The anatomy of an argument: claim, evidence, assumption and conclusion
  2. Common fallacies and weak arguments in theological writing
  3. Identifying bias in sources: confessional, ideological and commercial
  4. Confirmation bias in your own work, and ways to reduce it

Module 6: Constructing Arguments and Writing

  1. Building a theological argument from Scripture, tradition and reason
  2. Outlining and drafting a research paper
  3. Clear analytical prose: paragraphs, transitions and plain language
  4. Revising, editing and checking quotations and facts

All courses

Program / Course 23: Research Methodology / Lesson 4.2

What you will learn

  • Cite a patristic work by its ancient divisions (work, book, chapter, section) and also by the modern edition used.
  • Cite a council, a creed or a church document by its standard collection.
  • Cite an online source with the details a reader needs to find it again.
  • Explain why two layers of reference, ancient and modern, are needed for old texts.

The big idea

Ancient texts are cited in two layers. The first is the ancient division of the work, such as book, chapter and section, which is the same in every edition. The second is the modern edition or translation you used, with its editor, publisher and page. Giving both lets a reader find the passage in any edition and also check your exact wording. Councils, creeds and online sources follow the same principle: say what the text is, say where you found it, and give enough detail for a stranger to retrace your steps.

Key terms

Ancient divisions
The book, chapter and section numbers of an ancient work, which are shared across editions and translations.
Ante-Nicene Fathers
A nineteenth century English series of the writings of Christian authors before the Council of Nicaea, abbreviated ANF.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
A related English series of later patristic writings, in two sets, abbreviated NPNF. The second series is cited with its volume.
Reprint
A later printing of an older edition. A note gives the original date and the date of the reprint.
Creed
A short formal statement of Christian belief, such as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed.
Acts of a council
The official records, decrees and canons of a church council.
Canon (of a council)
A numbered rule or decision issued by a council. Not to be confused with the canon of Scripture.
Access date
The date on which you read an online source, recorded because web pages can change.

Background

A work like Augustine’s City of God or Tertullian’s On Baptism exists in many editions and translations, and the page numbers of each differ. If a note gave only the page of your copy, a reader with a different copy could not find the place. So scholars cite by the ancient divisions, which are numbered the same everywhere, and often add the page of the edition used. The result looks like this: Tertullian, On Baptism 18. A reader with any edition can turn to chapter 18.

Collections have their own conventions. For works in the Ante-Nicene Fathers and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers series, the usual practice is to name the author and work with the book and chapter, and then the series, volume, editors, and page. Editors of the series, original publishers and reprint dates are part of the entry. The Chicago Manual of Style and its student version by Turabian give models for classical and medieval works. Because the details vary between editions of the manual and between series, check the current guidance, and follow the style of the school or press that will read your paper.

Councils and creeds are cited by the collection that gives the text. A creed is quoted from a named collection, such as Philip Schaff’s The Creeds of Christendom, or from a modern source such as Norman Tanner’s edition of the decrees of the ecumenical councils, with the creed’s name, the page and the translation. Online sources need extra care, since pages move and change. The rule is to record enough that you or a reader can find the source again, and to prefer a stable version, such as a digitized copy of a printed edition.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Cite the ancient divisions first

Give the author, the title of the work, and the book, chapter or section numbers. Use Arabic numerals unless your style requires otherwise, and separate book, chapter and section with periods, as in Augustine, City of God 14.28. Titles of long works are italicized, and titles of short ones may be in plain type or quotation marks according to the manual.

Check how your edition divides the work. Some works are divided in more than one way, and some translations renumber.

Step 2: Add the modern edition and page

After the ancient reference, give the edition or translation used. A typical pattern is: 1. Tertullian, On Baptism 18, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (1885; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), [page]. This is a pattern, and the page number is left for you to supply from your own copy.

For a modern translation of a single work, cite it like a book, adding the translator: Athanasius, On the Incarnation, trans. John Behr (Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2011). Verify the details on the title page of your copy.

Step 3: Shorten later notes

After the first full note, later notes may give only the author, short title and ancient reference: Tertullian, On Baptism 18. Where the same edition is used throughout, you can state in the first note that all later references are to it, as the manual allows.

In the bibliography, list the edition used, not each work cited from it, if the manual and your reader accept it, or list each work under the author, according to the instructions you follow.

Step 4: Cite councils, creeds and church documents

Name the council or the document, the date if useful, and the collection and translator. For example: Council of Nicaea (325), Creed, in The Creeds of Christendom, ed. Philip Schaff, vol. 2 (New York: Harper, 1877), [page]. Check which volume and printing you used, since reprints vary. For canons, give the number: Council of Nicaea, canon 6.

Modern church documents such as encyclicals are cited by author, title, date and the section number, since sections are numbered consistently, with the place of publication if you use a printed edition.

Step 5: Cite online sources

For a digitized text, cite the printed original if you can see it is the same, and note the digital copy. For a web page, give the author or organization, the page title, the website name, the publication or last modified date if shown, the access date, and the web address. Use a DOI for articles that have one.

Avoid sources with no author, date or origin. If you must use one, say what you know and what you do not know about it in the note.

  1. What are the book, chapter and section numbers of this passage?
  2. Which edition and translation did I use, and who produced it?
  3. Is my edition a reprint, and have I given both dates?
  4. Could a reader with a different edition find the same passage?
  5. For an online source, could I or anyone find it again from my note?
  6. Have I checked my format against the current manual?

Examples

A patristic work in a series

Tertullian, On Baptism 18, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (1885; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), [page]. The two layers are the ancient chapter and the modern volume. Verify the details against the volume you use.

A modern translation of a single work

Athanasius, On the Incarnation, trans. John Behr (Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2011), [page]. The translator is named, since the English wording is the translator’s choice. Check the title page of your copy for the exact details.

A creed or council

Council of Nicaea, canon 6, cited from the edition and translation you used, such as the decrees of the ecumenical councils edited by Norman Tanner. State the edition in the first note, and the canon number after it.

An online source

Author or organization, ‘Title of Page,’ Name of Website, date published or last modified, accessed date, web address. If the page is a digitized copy of a printed book, cite the book and add ‘digitized by’ with the library or site that provides it.

Different perspectives

Catholic

Catholic scholars cite patristic works by the ancient divisions, and use critical editions such as those in the Corpus Christianorum and Sources Chrétiennes, as well as English translations. Church documents are cited by their official titles and numbered paragraphs, which makes them easy to find across editions.

Orthodox

Orthodox writers also cite the Fathers by work, book and chapter, often from the Greek Patrologia of Migne or from modern critical editions and translations. Liturgical texts and the canons are cited by the collection used. Because the canons are numbered in several collections, state which one.

Protestant

Protestant scholars use the same patristic and conciliar conventions. Reformation documents, such as confessions and catechisms, are cited by article or question number, and by the edition used. Confessions in the Reformed and Lutheran traditions are available in several collections, so the edition should be named.

Style guides and libraries

Style guides advise citing the best available edition, ancient divisions first, and recording the edition used. Libraries also advise preferring stable sources and recording the access date for online pages. Rules differ between guides, so the student should follow the one that applies.

Why it matters

Old texts are read in many editions, and a careless citation leaves a reader stranded. Giving the ancient divisions and the modern edition serves readers of every tradition and every edition, and shows that you have used the text as scholars do. It also protects you: a note that records exactly what you read is a note you can defend.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: It is enough to give the page of the edition I used.

Correction: A page number helps only readers with the same edition. Give the ancient divisions as well, so any reader can find the passage.

Misunderstanding: An online text of a Father needs no edition details.

Correction: Online texts are copies of some edition. Find out which one, and say so, since the reader may want to compare it.

Misunderstanding: Citing a creed means just naming it.

Correction: A creed exists in several forms and translations. Name the version and the collection you used.

Misunderstanding: The access date is unnecessary.

Correction: Web pages change or disappear. The access date records which version you read.

Knowledge check

Why are ancient works cited in two layers?

The ancient divisions, such as book and chapter, are the same in every edition, so any reader can find the passage. The modern edition, with its editor, translator, publisher and page, shows exactly which wording you used and lets the reader check it. Together they serve both readers with other editions and those who want to verify your quotation.

What details belong in a note for a work in the Ante-Nicene Fathers series?

The author and work with book and chapter, then the series, the volume, the editors, the original date and the reprint publisher and date, and the page. The pattern is Author, Work chapter, in Series, vol. number, ed. Editors (original date; repr., place: publisher, date), page. Verify against the volume and the current manual.

How is a council canon cited?

Name the council, and the canon number, such as Council of Nicaea, canon 6, and give the collection and translation from which you took it, with the editor, publisher and page. Since canons are numbered differently in different collections, state which collection you used.

What should a note for a web page include?

The author or organization, the page title, the website name, the publication or last modified date, the date you accessed it, and the web address. If the page reproduces a printed work, cite the printed work and note the digital copy. A source with no author or date should be treated with caution and the gap noted.

Think it through

  1. Choose a passage of a Father you know. Could a reader with another edition find it from your note?
  2. Why might the same canon have different numbers in different collections?
  3. What are the risks of citing a Father from a website that gives no edition?
  4. How do careful citations of ancient texts honor the people who preserved and translated them?

Independent assignment

Citing old texts

In your own notebook, write full notes and bibliography entries for four real sources you have used or plan to use: a patristic work from a series or collection, a creed or conciliar text, a modern translation of a single patristic work, and an online source. Use the patterns above and check each against its title page or web page. Add 100 words on the problems you met. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study